


Here to help

by Number_Twelve



Series: The Umbrella Academy Oneshots & others [4]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alcohol uses, Brother-Sister Relationships, Gen, Good Sibling Allison Hargreeves, Good Sibling Vanya Hargreeves, Hurt Number Five | The Boy, Minor Allison Hargreeves/Luther Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy Has Issues, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Protective Allison Hargreeves, Vanya Hargreeves Deserves Better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25974811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Number_Twelve/pseuds/Number_Twelve
Summary: Five 'accidentally' drinks too much alcohol and finds himself stumbling into an alley at god-knows-what-hour. Lucky for him, Vanya's passing by when it happens.
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy & Vanya Hargreeves
Series: The Umbrella Academy Oneshots & others [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1885216
Kudos: 119
Collections: The umbrella academy





	Here to help

**Author's Note:**

> My third Oneshot of The Umbrella Academy! I just wanted to thank all of you folks who left kudos on my two previous works, because I swear that only two minutes and fifty three seconds after I had finished posting my second passed before one appeared before my screen, and by today morning I was delighted that there were more than thirty!  
> Hoping you guys enjoy this one ^^

Five had never felt worse. Never. (well, at least that'd how he felt, but he was pretty sure that he had) He clutched at his stomach as he stumbled into the nearest alley, letting himself fall to the ground, back against the dirty wall. His hands trembled terribly. He shouldn’t have drank all that tequila in the first place. It had been far too much on his teenage body. God, he _hated_ it, the fact that here he was, weak, pain coursing through him. He couldn’t hold back the contents of his stomach as he leaned to his side, retching, coughing, spitting. He was ashamed of himself. Angry. Shame. So. Much. Shame, burning through him.

“Sir, are you-?” he looked up weakly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand to find it was Vanya standing there. She looked worried, but upon seeing her brother’s face she went pale.

“ _Five_?” she asked, hurrying to his side and crouching next to her. “Hang on, I think I have some tissues in my bag… yes, here they are…” she gave them to him and he wiped his mouth with trembling hands.

“What happened?” Vanya asked, gripping his arm. “You look a sight, you know?”

“I supposed,” Five replied, trying to act like everything was fine. _It’s not, idiot_ his mind murmured. He swatted the thought away as if it was a fly.

“What- what happened?”

“I went drinking.”

“Wha-?”

“Vanya, I may look like a thirteen year old, but I am perfectly capable of drinking al-” he suddenly stopped, clamping a hand over his mouth, his stomach churning. Thankfully, nothing came. Vanya raised her eyebrows at him.

“I think your body says otherwise,” she said in a flat voice. He tried to deny the fact, but he knew that maybe she was right. Maybe. She sighed. “My apartment’s close by. I can’t just leave you here, and the mansion is… a long way far from here.” 

As much as he wished to decline, he knew that he wouldn’t make the walk back home. As much as he hated to be the weak one that moment, he knew that he had to accept her help.

He nodded his head, not trusting his sore throat to carry out the simple yes lest he puked again, and Vanya grinned.

“Great. I was afraid we would have to argue about it, but this is a lot better,” she said. He tried to stand, but his legs buckled underneath him. His sister grunted as she helped him to his feet, slinging his left arm over her shoulders. Then the two walked out into the street, headed for Vanya’s apartment.

“You are lucky I found you,” Vanya said as she fiddled with the apartment keys, turning the lock. She helped him through the door, using her foot to close it behind her, and helped her dizzy brother to the small armchair in her small sitting area. He collapsed on it with a pained, sharp breath, his sides hurting. Memories came to his mind. Ah, yes, the gamblers...

"Five, there are bruises all over your legs," Vanya said, as if hearing the thought. Five winced.

"Oh, th- that's nothing." he stammered, wishing he were wearing trousers instead of his old school uniform. Vanya frowned at him, eyes inspecting his face.

"And your face is bruised, too." she said. 

"I fell." Not a lie, but not the entire truth either. Vanya sighed, shaking her head. She turned and left to the kitchen. He could hear her opening what seemed to be the fridge, the tinkling of glass and a drawer or something of the sort opening. She returned moments later with a blue, rectangle-shaped box in her hands, wraped in a tea towel. 

"This may sting for a moment," she said. Five was about to ask what she was going to do before she pressed it against his temple, where a large bruise was. He yelped at the sudden sharp stab of coldness that touched his skin, but it was suddenly refreshing, relieving. "Better?"

"Yeah." he replied, muscles relaxing a bit despite his bitter mood. 

"Here, you can hold it. I will get another for your legs." Vanya said, letting him take over. She went back to the kitchen just as the doorbell rung. Five was suddenly on edge. Murderers? Mercenaries sent out to kill him? Vanya went to open it before he could shout at her to not do so, but she was already twisting the knob by the time his mouth opened.

"Allison!" Vanya said happily.

_…Oh?_

"Sorry I was a bit late, V," Their older sister said, smiling as she came in.

"No problem. I was running a bit late too." Vanya said, closing the door and locking it. "And look who I came across."

Allison turned to Five, who gave her a feeble wave as he sunk deeper into the armchair, glad that it hadn't been either a murderer or a mercenary (not that he could beat them single handed, but even if his survival instincts kicked in, he doubted it would be as easy as it would have been if it weren't for his current state).

"What are you doing here so late?" Allison asked him. He was glad he didn't ask why he was holding the icepack to his forehead, or why he looked so worn out. At least, that was for the moment.

"Fate." was his response. Allison chuckled.

"Well, I got us some drinks." Vanya said, "Salad too."

"Great!" Allison said. Vanya turned to Five.

"Water?" she asked.

"That would be great." he said with a small nod.

"And I'll get you another ice pack." she added as she walked back to the kitchen. Allison then turned full attention to Five, her smile falling away.

"Aren't you a bit too young to drink?" she asked. Why did everyone keep asking him that?

"I already said that I am fifty nine-"

"Not your body," Allison said, "I doubt it can hold up for as long as an adult's. And where did you get all those bruises from?" 

A short-lived silence.

"I got into a bar brawl. But don't worry. I think I managed to punch some of my attacker's teeth out, even if I was... well. Drunk." he said the last word with care. He didn't feel drunk, at all. Didn't people say that giggling was involved? And his mind was perfectly clear. Not that he hadn't gotten slightly drunk before, but it had been slightly drunk. He had been... pretty responsible about it.

"Hmmm, good to know." Allison purred.

"Allison, I hope you like red wine," Vanya said, returning with two wine glasses, a wine bottle and a glass of water. She carefully placed them on the coffee table, hurrying back to the kitchen to retrieve the salad. 

Soon all three siblings were seated, Five sipping water from his glass. He was grateful for each drop of the liguid that went down his awfully dry throat. The other two women were talking, but he made no effort to join the conversation, perfectly happy with sitting there and drinking from his glass of water. Of course, not talking, not being able to pace up and down like he usually did when nervousness took over (or literally any uncomfortable emotions), led his thoughts to get louder in his head. Father would be ashamed to see him like this. Sure, he wasn't number one (he knew he was the best, yet that position had fell into Luther's arms), but he knew that he was the best. And, well, being the best meant that he had always had to keep a cool head, keep smart, keep running ahead of everyone else. But these thoughts, Five knew, they were not his. They had been planted there by his father, and now the roots were far too deep for him to wrench out.

He knew father woukd be ashamed to see he was like this now. Well, not ashamed exactcly. More like... dissapointed, but in his way. That would mean putting him through training for hours on end, making him dissapear and reappear 'till he plummeted to the ground. And even when that happened, he would force himself to do it again and again untill his father told him that it was enough. 

Yet it never was. It was never enough. He had been stupid to try out the time travel on his own without his father's help, and he had understood that all over the years that passed after that fateful day.

He... couldn't say that he didn't regret it, but he had found out about the apocalypse, and, well, that counted. Pity his father was gone by the time he came back.

"Five?" He glanced up from the carpeted spot he had been staring at to find Vanya's worried eyes on him. He hummed in response, taking another sip from the cup. "Are you okay?"

He thought about it for a moment. "… yes."

Because, after all the hardships he had had to go through, he had still made it back to them. To his family.


End file.
